Egypt official describes occupation as ‘hotel, not a state’

The statements of the Head of the Egyptian Information Service Diaa Rashwan sparked widespread anger among Israeli media after Rashwan described the occupying state as a “hotel, not a state”.

During an interview with an Egyptian television channel, the Egyptian official spokesperson commented on the issue of religious Jews’ refusal to serve in the Israeli occupation army, sharing his view that: “The refusal of religious leaders in Israel (ultra-Orthodox rabbis) to join the occupation army and their threat to leave the country is unacceptable in a country that considers itself strong. This suggests that Israel is a hotel, not a state.”

Israeli newspaper Israel Today described the Egyptian official’s statements as “off-beat” and noted: “His statements that Israel is in danger and cannot confront a regular army are unacceptable statements.”

The newspaper expressed: “Diaa Rashwan severely underestimated the strength of the Israeli army in an unusual manner for a senior Egyptian official when he referred to the war that Israel is waging against Hamas in Gaza and expressed his opinion on the issue of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews.”

Rashwan had previously remarked: “The October War contributed to Israel’s withdrawal from the idea of expanding its occupation of Egypt, and after that we did not witness an organised war against Israel, only against armed groups. We are currently witnessing an imbalanced war in the Gaza Strip, which indicates that Israel is in danger and cannot confront a regular army, like it did in the October War.”

The Israeli newspaper added: “The head of the Egyptian regime, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, has recently exerted all his political weight against Israel, and in addition to repeated warnings of a military operation against Hamas in Rafah, Al-Sisi is hosting a political summit for Arab foreign ministers.”

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